Haley Pesce

Babson College

“An internally-motivated and cheerful person who enjoys helping others and being outdoors.”

Fun fact about yourself: I am a certified Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver.

Hometown: Roxbury, CT

High School: Shepaug Valley High School

Major: Marketing & Global Business Management

Minor: N/A

Favorite Business Course: Entrepreneurial Finance

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

• Varsity Field Hockey Team

• • NFHCA All-Academic Squad (2016-2019)
  • NEWMAC All-Academic (2016-2019)
  • Volunteered at Cunningham Elementary school

• Yoga Club Member
• Student-Athlete Advisory Committee – Board Member & Health and Wellness Member
• Education Abroad Peer Advisor – Executive of Marketing
• Student-Athlete Tutor – Managerial Accounting, Finance, Accounting, Microeconomics, QTM I/II/III
• Dean’s List All Semesters
• Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society Member

Where have you interned during your college career?

World Innovators, Inc., Connecticut- Digital Marketing Specialist

KPort Concierge, Remote- Helped with marketing, UI/UX web design, business consulting, direct mail postings

Earth Loans, Inc., Remote- Marketing Manager

Naturopathic Health Center, Connecticut- Social Media Manager

Where will you be working after graduation? Toast, Inc. as a Business Development Representative

What company do you admire the most? Toast for their commitment to serving the restaurant industry and make operations more fluid for the owner, employees, and the customers.

Who is your favorite professor? Professor Bravo, who is a part of the Marketing Division at Babson. She was my professor for Intro to Marketing as well as Marketing Management. She is also a Marketing consultant for businesses in New England and has extensive and admirable experience in the field. Because of this, she has provided me with valuable information, especially as a Marketing major. In fact, she was the person that inspired and fostered my love for marketing in the first place. Her knowledge and teachings have definitely prepared me for a career beyond college.

What did you enjoy most about your business school? I loved the tight-knit community that Babson has formed. The professors are talented and vastly experienced and can impart the lessons they’ve learned upon their students. The fact that everyone at the school takes the same core curriculum created a very interactive and collaborative learning environment. At the same time, the school does a great job of encouraging individual creativity and thought.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? I learned that business can be used in everything that you do. Whether you want to be an artist or a lawyer, a business background is extremely helpful. I’ve learned that business is just as much an art as a science. While it includes numbers and analytics and financials, it also includes an entrepreneurial spirit and a large sense of innovation.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? DO IT! Even if you don’t know for sure what you want to do, business is the building block for everything and will contribute greatly to your future success.

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? Majoring in business has opened my eyes to types of business I was never familiar with before. Before attending Babson, when I thought of business, I thought of finance and accounting but now I realize how much more there is to the major. There are qualitative tools/facets of business as well that can be applicable to all skill sets.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? Stepping out of my comfort zone to study abroad for a semester in Florence, Italy and living with an Italian host mother. This was a life-changing experience for me and I am beyond stoked I took the leap of faith to expand my cultural and retrospective horizons.

Which classmate do you most admire? Katherine McVey – She is a very talented student who is pursuing a career in UX/UI design. Not only does she excel in all facets of business, but she works around the clock to create portfolios for possible employers. Additionally, she pursues her non-educational passions like photography, blogging, and hiking all with a caring and humble attitude.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? I can’t possibly pick one person because I’d like to equally thank my parents for their consistent love and encouragement for me to pursue whatever makes me happy. I would not be at the place I am today without their daily phone calls, late-night project help, drives to sporting events, and support to follow my dreams. For that, I am eternally grateful.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

• To own a holistic health & wellness company
• To have a career that allows me financial freedom and flexibility

What are your hobbies?

• Food blogging & photography & cooking
• Being outdoors
• Exercising
• Maintaining a healthy and plant-based lifestyle
• Traveling and experiencing other cultures
• Holistic health & yoga

What made Haley Pesce such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2020?

“Haley Pesce is one of the brightest and best students I have ever had in 20 years of teaching. She was in my Principles of Marketing course and the capstone course, Marketing Management. When she was in Principles of Marketing, I was secretly hoping she would concentrate on Marketing and take Marketing Management with me – and she did!

What a joy! Teams were set up in that course to develop a rebranding campaign for the “Amnesty Policy”, which encourages students to call Public Safety if another student is incapacitated from drugs or alcohol. Babson Health and Wellness, our client, worked with each team and realized that Haley’s contribution, in particular, was priceless. And they specifically told me so. The campaign became called “I Call Because I Care” and re-framed the thinking of students from “amnesty” to “care,” thereby encouraging calls to Public Safety based on friendship and concern. Haley and two other students presented the campaign to the clients, who loved it, and then made slight revisions before presenting to the senior leadership at Babson. As the client, Ryan Travia, put it….Haley’s team “knocked it out of the park!” Senior leadership overwhelmingly approved the project and it will be implemented across the Babson campus in the fall. Haley was particularly motivated to perform at the highest level because she identified immediately that this policy could save the life of a Babson student someday. She showed great compassion, creativity, marketing expertise, resiliency, and a drive for excellence. This policy will be part of her legacy to the Babson community.

Personally, Haley is helpful to other students, demonstrates kindness and compassion, and is very respectful to everyone  She’s also a lot of fun and brings happiness to the room as soon as she walks in.  As I mentioned, she is a joy!  She also has one of the highest grade point averages of all students concentrating in Marketing.  I know she will be highly successful in the marketplace and I can’t wait to see the great accomplishments ahead.”

Sandy Bravo
Lecturer
Marketing Division, Malloy 210
Babson College

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